The health of your child is of utmost importance to you, and that includes the health of their teeth. As soon as your child starts to develop their first teeth, they need to begin caring for those teeth by brushing and flossing. The oral health habits that your child develops now can impact them for the rest of their life. While your child can make an effort to keep their teeth clean, they need your help as well. There are certain areas that tend to be problematic for many children. Cleaning the molars, and cleaning around the gum line in particular. In today’s blog, we address common problem areas for children’s oral health.
What Can You Do About Difficult-to-Reach Molars?
The most difficult teeth to clean are the most difficult teeth to reach. Even as an adult, reaching your molars with your toothbrush and cleaning them thoroughly is difficult. So as a child with developing motor skills, these teeth can often become problem areas. How can you combat the issues that come with cleaning molars? Using an electric toothbrush allows you to clean those teeth more thoroughly when you do reach them. In addition to this step, you may also consider dental sealants for your child. Sealants are thin layers of acrylic that your dentist can paint over the surface of a tooth to prevent bacteria from growing and causing damage.
Remind Your Child to Clean at the Gum Line
It can be easy for children to focus on cleaning the obvious surfaces of teeth when brushing. The front and top of each tooth are sure to get plenty of love, but the areas around the gum line are just as important. Bacteria can aggregate here and cause cavities or gum disease. Be sure to remind your child to brush around and away from the gum line as part of their cleaning regimen. This is where flossing is helpful as well. Flossing gets between teeth in a way that a brush head often struggles to.
Your Child’s Diet Can Help Them Avoid Oral Health Issues
An often-overlooked component of oral health for children (and for patients of all ages) is the diet. Of course you need to thoroughly and consistently clean your teeth, but you can also control the risk for your child’s teeth with what they eat. Sugary drinks and sticky, sugary foods tend to stick to the teeth and create an easy food source for bacteria. These foods are more difficult to remove from the surfaces of teeth, and they can expedite the rate at which bacteria multiply. Try to reduce the amount of sugar your child is ingesting, and encourage them to brush their teeth after consuming sugary foods.
Schedule Your Checkup at Cedar Dental
In addition to brushing and flossing at home, you need to make regular dentist appointments for your child. At Cedar Dental, we eliminate the intimidating aspects of dental visits with welcoming staff and a comfortable care environment. Schedule your biannual check up by contacting Cedar Dental in Cedar Rapids, IA at 319-364-7108.
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